CHAPTER 1 — "You Can Give Birth After My Mom's Party."
The first scream echoed through the luxury home long before anyone else knew a life was about to change forever.
Valeria Montes had spent the entire morning preparing her husband's favorite breakfast.
Even at 38 weeks pregnant, despite swollen feet, constant dizziness, and strict medical instructions to remain in bed, she insisted on taking care of the house herself.
She believed that if everything looked perfect, Mauricio Cárdenas might finally look at her the way he once had.
She was wrong.
A violent pain exploded through her lower back.
The glass she was carrying slipped from her trembling fingers.
It shattered across the polished white marble floor.
Valeria froze.
Another contraction hit harder than the first.
Her breathing became shallow.
Something warm trickled down her legs.
She looked down.
Blood.
Not a few drops.
A frightening amount.
Her heart immediately remembered what Dr. Camila Herrera had warned them only three days earlier.
"Your blood pressure is unstable."
"Your placenta is showing signs of partial separation."
"If you experience pain, bleeding, or dizziness... don't wait even one minute."
"Come to the hospital immediately, or both you and the baby could die."
Valeria grabbed the kitchen counter with both hands.
"Mauricio..."
Her voice barely came out.
He was standing in front of the entrance mirror adjusting an expensive silk tie.
Without turning around, he replied,
"What now?"
"I... I think the baby is coming."
Silence.
She waited for him to run toward her.
Instead, he sighed with irritation.
"I told you not to start this today."
Another contraction folded her body in half.
She collapsed to her knees.
Broken glass sliced into her palms.
Fresh blood mixed with the crimson spreading beneath her dress.
"Mauricio... please..."
Only then did he glance at her.
For one brief second...
...he saw everything.
The pale face.
The shaking hands.
The tears.
The blood.
Even the fear in her eyes.
But before he could take a single step...
His phone rang.
The screen displayed one name.
Mom ❤️
He answered immediately.
Beatriz Cárdenas' sharp voice blasted through the speaker.
"Tell me you're already on your way."
Mauricio forced a smile.
"Almost there."
"I've got 180 guests waiting."
"The mayor is here."
"The business partners are here."
"The orchestra is ready."
"And don't tell me your wife suddenly found another excuse."
Valeria cried loudly from the kitchen.
"I'm bleeding!"
There was a brief pause.
Then Beatriz laughed.
"I knew it."
"That girl can't stand not being the center of attention."
"Every birthday... every anniversary... every family event..."
"She invents some tragedy."
Valeria couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I'm not lying!"
"My baby..."
"Our daughter..."
"Please..."
Beatriz interrupted coldly.
"Son..."
"Women have babies every day."
"I only turn sixty-five once."
"If you embarrass me in front of everyone today..."
"I'll never forgive you."
Mauricio lowered his eyes.
Then...
He made his decision.
He grabbed his car keys.
Valeria stared at him in disbelief.
"No..."
"No..."
"You're not leaving."
He walked toward the front door.
"Mauricio!"
She crawled after him despite another contraction ripping through her body.
Blood stained the marble behind her.
She grabbed the leg of his trousers.
He pulled away.
"Call your sister."
"My phone..."
"It's upstairs..."
"Then crawl."
Those two words shattered something inside her that no doctor would ever be able to heal.
She burst into tears.
"She's your daughter."
"For God's sake..."
"Look at me."
He finally did.
For nearly five seconds...
Their eyes met.
He saw genuine terror.
He saw death reflected in her expression.
Yet he still reached for the door handle.
"My mother has waited sixty-five years for today."
"You've been pregnant for nine months."
"You can wait three more hours."
The heavy steel door slammed shut.
Valeria heard the electronic security system activate.
Beep.
Another beep.
Then...
CLACK.
Every lock in the house engaged simultaneously.
Her stomach dropped.
No...
No...
No...
Mauricio hadn't simply left.
He had remotely activated the home's highest security setting.
Every window.
Every entrance.
Every emergency exit.
Locked.
From the outside.
She ran toward the front door.
Or at least tried to.
Another contraction threw her to the floor.
She slammed into broken glass.
Blood covered both hands.
She pulled desperately at the handle.
Nothing.
She screamed until her throat burned.
No answer.
Outside...
His luxury SUV disappeared around the corner.
Inside...
Valeria realized she had become a prisoner inside her own home.
Minutes passed.
Her vision blurred.
Blood continued spreading across the white floor.
Then another terrifying sensation struck.
Warm fluid.
Far more than before.
She remembered something the doctor had quietly told Mauricio after the appointment.
"If the placenta separates completely..."
"...the baby may lose oxygen within minutes."
Valeria suddenly stopped crying.
Because she could no longer feel the baby moving.
The little kicks...
The tiny stretches...
The gentle rolls she had felt every day...
Gone.
Complete silence.
"No..."
She pressed both trembling hands against her belly.
"Please..."
"Kick..."
"Just once..."
Nothing.
Pure terror flooded her entire body.
She forced herself onto her elbows and began dragging herself across the blood-covered floor toward the living room.
Every inch felt impossible.
Broken glass tore into her skin.
Her vision darkened.
She whispered the only words she still believed someone might hear.
"Please..."
"Don't let my daughter die..."
Far away...
Elegant music filled the ballroom.
Crystal glasses clinked.
Guests applauded.
Beatriz stepped onto the decorated stage wearing a diamond necklace worth more than most families earned in a lifetime.
She smiled toward the livestream camera.
"My son chose family over unnecessary drama."
The audience laughed politely.
Hundreds of hearts appeared across the live broadcast.
No one watching knew that at that exact moment...
Only twelve kilometers away...
A mother was crawling through her own blood...
Trying to save the child everyone else had already abandoned.
And before this night was over...
One emergency call...
One firefighter's body camera...
And one forgotten security recording...
Would expose a truth so horrifying...
May you like
That the birthday celebration would become the crime scene every television station in Mexico would soon be talking about.
END OF CHAPTER 1…
